Shadows of a Silver Mind
by Trauts
Summary: After Solaris' destruction, what happened to the timelines it had affected? The lives it had affected? And why is it all so important when an old ally turns up? Set after Sonic 2006. Shadow/Silver. Remake of a previous story.
1. Prologue: The Day Before Tomorrow

**If you are uninterested in my Author's Notes on the topic of remaking my own story, you may skip these notes**

Before I say anything else at all, thank you to whomever is reading this, whether you have read the pre-existing version of this story, you simply liked the summary that you saw under the "Most Recent" uploads or you deliberately searched out Fanfiction for Shadow/Silver.

For those who don't know what I'm talking about, I uploaded my story, "_Shadows of a Silver Mind_" to this site before, a total of 9 Chapters, with 31,333 words. It was my first attempt at Fanfiction, but now, looking back, much of it-the dialogue, the events, the unlikely or rushed themes-I am unhappy with.

I always did have-and still do-enthusiasm for the general story, the general plotline, of "_Shadows of a Silver Mind_", but now that I have a small bit more experience along with some great people helping me out (**Basket of Black Roses **as my beta reader to name one), I have taken another shot at the general story.

You will notice some scenes may be almost exactly the same, and the sequence of events will not change a great deal, though my characterization will be. However, my portrayal of Sonic, Tails and Silver will be changed to greater extents than to other characters such as Shadow, Rouge and Omega.

Thank you, and I hope you enjoy the prologue of _Shadows of a Silver Mind _Remade.

**Prologue: The Day before Tomorrow **

__________

"Are you sure? This was what they sent?"

Shadow the Hedgehog stopped for a moment and dropped his hand, poised to knock on the door in front of him, noticing the unmistakable voice of the Commander of the Guardian Units of Nations from inside.

"Yes sir, Intel sent us this image, retrieved from the hacking of Eggman security cameras. They collected this picture directly from the system-" The new, younger male voice lacked the obvious authority of the other's, and instead reported with a faint insecurity.

"They didn't think to grab any files? They have none of Robotnik's reports, no other useful information?"  
"No sir, the report claimed that the only electronic data that wasn't secure were limited camera functions."

"So we have nothing, no clue as to who-" The Commander's voice stopped for a moment, Shadow suspecting the reason.

"Shadow, get in here. There's no need to eavesdrop on your allies, especially when they were the ones to call you up."

Shadow scowled, but reached up to open the door to the Commander's office, stepping inside the large room. As always, the room appeared larger than it truly was from the sparse filling. A filing cabinet, a desk and a chair was the limit of the true furnishings, leaving the only noteworthy 'decoration' to be the G.U.N insignias emblazoned over the walls and the only real point of interest being flat security screens giving live camera feeds from around the base, including the space Shadow was standing moments ago just outside the door.

The Commander himself sat at the desk, his heterochromic eyes staring into Shadow's own; his left eye a deep amber, his right a pale blue. Beside him, a visibly nervous G.U.N soldier stood and gave a hasty salute at the smaller hedgehog. The man couldn't be past his mid-20's, and despite his widened eyes, he stood in a well-disciplined stance. Shadow didn't have to wonder about him, a glance told him all it was necessary to know about the man; a messenger who knew very well that he was standing in the presence of two of the most powerful figures on Earth.

"Information should never be passed up, Commander." Shadow spoke, something resembling amusement in his voice. Though his mouth moved, his face did not; his eyes remaining on the one he spoke to. The Commander's eyes narrowed at the remark.  
"Top level clearance isn't enough for you, Shadow? Maybe you'd prefer to take my job? I'm sure the paperwork would suit you just _perfectly_," the Commander baited; a dry smile drawing at the edge of his lips. The Commander of G.U.N would be one of the few that could get away with such speech to the so-dubbed "Ultimate Life-Form". Despite that, Shadow's eye's instinctively focused into a glare for a second, before remembering the Commander was never intimidated by them. As if to make up for it, Shadow intentionally ignored the Commander, turning instead to the soldier, who refrained from flinching at the gaze.

"Speak. What image has been recovered?" Shadow's stare did not falter as he asked the question. He was curious as to the image that appeared to alarm the Commander who had been described as containing a "heart of stone". To his faint surprise, the soldier did not immediately spout out information in fear of the deadly hedgehog, but rather turned his head slightly to the Commander. Shadow was not his commanding officer; he was not authorized to report.  
"Lieutenant, leave us. You have done your job." The soldier was visibly relieved at the new order.  
"Yes sir." The man gave an orderly salute to both the Commander and Shadow and then turned to leave at a brisk pace, closing the door behind him.

The Commander sat for a moment, rubbing a hand over his head.

"Shadow, what did I tell you about distressing people in the Guardian Units?" The Commander's voice was weary, but still with a touch of amusement so similar to that in Shadow's voice before.  
"I think he handled it well, Commander." Shadow replied. The Commander took his hand away from his face, revealing his aged eyes.  
"Yes, yes he did. But I called you up here to discuss this. Intelligence took this from Robotnik's security cameras at what appears to be his main base; at least, he is currently residing there." The veteran explained, pushing a surprisingly high-quality picture over the desk. It seemed to be of a small room, the image taken from a corner in the roof. The walls were smooth steel, with the exception of the various vents in the room and a small cut-away section that passes into another room outside of the image's visibility, though it clearly acted as a door-less "doorway". But Shadow's eyes were fixed on the familiar figure laying, arms and legs straight and flat, on a thin bed-like pad in the center.  
"Shadow, you don't see therianthropic hedgehogs every day, let alone one Robotnik seems to take an interest in."

Shadow knew the sound in the Commander's voice, he was waiting to hear what Shadow had to say, but the dark hedgehog did not answer at once, going over the events in his mind as he looked over the almost-white body lying in the picture. A hedgehog, its quills turned upwards, much like Shadow's own, with a collection of clumped fur on the chest, paler than the silver-sheened fur that covered most of the figure. Its boots and cuffs were strangely designed, with lines running through them and over the hedgehog's gloved hands.

Shadow's brows knitted together when he noticed a change in those designs from when he last saw the hedgehog, but nonetheless prepared to explain to the Commander.

"I spoke of this hedgehog briefly once before, Commander, and his aid in defeating Solaris, the being that warped time to such an extent that a small few recall it's existence. This is Silver, known only as Silver the Hedgehog to my knowledge. Born an unknown number of centuries in a once-possible "future", I have no clue as to what may have happened to his world when Solaris was defeated, making the world which he grew up in impossible to exist." The Commander did not reply, and Shadow went on, knowing without being asked what the Commander wanted.

"His strength does not appear to be extraordinary, in fact, physically he seems to be frail. He does not seem to have much more running capacity than any human, either, nor any notable technologies. However, his powers come in the form of psychokinesis, to such an extent as to being able to lift, manipulate and crush heavy objects with no physical effort from what I know. He can move at supersonic speeds by propelling himself off the ground using these same powers, and has rudimentary control over Chaos Emeralds, though small." Shadow let out an imperceptible breath, disliking extended speeches. Shadow still readied himself to continue, knowing it was worth giving an extended report to the Commander now, and leaving any written reporting on Silver's character to the Commander himself.

"I have little knowledge on his personality, but he appears to be brash, idealistic and naïve. Potentially gullible, he nevertheless possesses a notably strong character, and a great desire to help others, not unlike that of Sonic's. Much of his character would be derived from the post-apocalyptic city of Soleanna which he grew up fighting. He is unlikely to be of any threat to this world, or to GUN." Shadow's lips sealed as he finished, staring at the Commander as if daring him to ask him to say more. He had left out the small fact that was different about the designs on Silver's accessories. _'After all,' _Shadow guessed,_ 'for all I know it could simply be because he's not conscious.' _

The Commander of G.U.N ignored the stare and turned his head to look at the live feeds of the cameras around the base, his brow furrowed in thought.

"Yes…you did tell me briefly of him. You also mentioned the short time you saw him before fighting Solaris that he was…distracted?" Shadow nodded at the Commander's question, but did not open his mouth to answer nor elaborate.

"You never found out why? Sonic did not know?" Shadow sighed quietly at the Commander's insistent inquisition.

"No, and I doubt any of us had the luxury of time to make conversation. Whatever it was, he was holding it close to him." Shadow brushed off, knowing what was soon to come. An eyebrow raised on the hedgehog's face as the leader of G.U.N reached for the intercom on his desk, holding down a button.

"Send a message to Rouge the Bat, have her cancel any mission she is currently on and report to me immediately." He spoke into. Without looking up, he let go of the button and answered Shadow's unspoken question.  
"Well?" He remarked, "This mission won't be easy, if he can negate our chaos drives, which he appears to be doing more and more often now, then he can negate your chaos energies too. Anything more than short warps will be impossible, let alone a full Chaos Control, so I can't let you inside Eggman's main base alone now, can I?"

Shadow smirked.

__________

A different approach to the story, yes, but I would like to hear feedback from readers…that is to say, you. Reviews are welcome, criticisms and points of improvement more so. I will answer anybody's questions, with the exception of "when will you update", as I have no direct schedule. The next chapter could be in anywhere from a few days to months on end.

Also, as a note, when "GUN" is used in dialogue, the character is referring to the Guardian Units of Nations as pronounced: "gun", when "G-U-N" is used in dialogue, the character is pronouncing each letter separately. "G.U.N" with the periods between the letters is only used outside of dialogue.

Thank you all.


	2. Chapter 1: Shadows of the Past

Well I'm back with the next chapter far later than I intended. I had problems including losing part of this chapter as my laptop broke down, then getting it back again, then a complete loss of motivation, admittedly. But finally, here's the next installment. 

Thank you to all who reviewed, in particular to **marilynmanson1990 **for the first to review the new remake and another thanks to **Rylum** for his helpful pointing out for room of improvements. 

I should also mention, as **Rylum **pointed out, that this isn't going to be just a Romance/Friendship of all…but with only 2 genres to choose from, I can't put in Romance/Friendship/Angst/Hurt/Comfort/Action/General. 

Most noticeable difference you may notice in this chapter that differs from my previous version of "Shadow's of a Silver Mind" would be how Silver acts and when he comes in. 

Now, rather than waste the time anyone reading this is taking out of their possibly busy schedules, I'll shut up now and let the next chapter commence.

**Chapter 1: Shadows of the Future **

Gloved fingers clenched in fists, before quickly relaxing as worn muscles protested at the stress. The owner of said fingers groaned in discomfort, remembering even his own name beyond him. He focused on the discomfort, and clenched a hand again, analyzing, thinking over the pain that it draws, letting it ever so slowly bring his senses back. He finally lifted a hand to his furred face, absently running it over his aching forehead and over his eyes to darken the bright light that he could tell was there even through his eyelids.

"Finally managed to wake, did you?"

Eyes shot open as instinct took over, lifting his upper body and throwing an arm out, his mind bending that movement into a psychic kinetic shot to repel whoever was there… Or so was the subconscious idea. Instead stiff muscles cramped at the sudden movement, and a gasp was ripped from the hedgehog's throat as he fell off the mattress he was on onto the cold floor, shuddering and twitching as his entire body cramped, flooding his senses with more pain as he closed his eyes and tried to stretch as many muscles as he could.

"Huh, I was going to advise you not to move too suddenly, but a bit late for that, I see." The voice was almost mocking, and yet faintly familiar… "And my next suggestion was going to be not to try to use whatever powers you might have left, which I doubt is any from the fact that your attempt did nothing. Besides that, from your clothing it's safe to assume that you're probably bled dry of any psychokinetic energy, at least for now."

The hedgehog's eyes opened again, slower this time as the cramps died down, tenderly rolling onto his back and lifting a hand to his face. The lines running through his cuff and glove that were used to focus his powers, normally a glowing cyan color, were now a dark, lifeless gray. Not even looking up, and ignoring the mocking voice, the hedgehog _pushed _his own head lightly, as if with another, unseen limb. Feeling no force, he focused his mind inward, a way he hadn't had to do since he was a child, his powers normally coming to him as easily as moving an arm or a leg. He looked through himself, searching his nerves, his mind, focusing in a meditative state to find the powers that were…him, that were always there. Except they weren't.

His cuffs, his gloves, his boots, the lack of colour in their conduits betrayed it: He was empty.

"It's usually rude in the past to ignore another, especially one who probably saved your life, _Silver_."

Silver held back from making any exclamation from hearing his name, after so long, but raised his gaze-carefully this time-to properly bring the figure above him into focus. It seemed as if it was a year ago that he last saw that mustached face…It wasn't long before he connected a name.

"Eggman…you were there, against Solaris." Silver rasped before regretting his words as his dry throat throbbed in protest of the irritation his voice caused. He leant against the cold steel wall, tenderly adjusting his muscles to prepare to stand up before a hand was offered from above him. Gratefully, Silver took it.

"Doctor Robotnik, actually, whatever you've heard people call me. Still, good to see your body has been exposed to enough Chaos energies to resist the mind-altering affects of Solaris' defeat." Eggman said, his voice suddenly kinder as he pulled the lightweight hedgehog up. Silver staggered as his body was pulled upright, instinctively trying to catch his own weight through his own powers, and almost tripping when no force held him up. Eggman caught the hedgehog's arm again to steady the considerably shorter hero.  
"Like I thought, you use your powers as you would another limb. I suggest you try to get over that.", Eggman pointed out as he let go of Silver, guessing quickly the reason for the stumble, "What's happened in the future to get you running back here, and so drained?"

Silver carefully averted his eyes, using an arm to steady himself on the nearby wall as his other arm holds a hand over his throbbing eyes and head. He forced himself to think, the exercise more difficult as he anticipated as concentration was made difficult by what seemed to be a very bright white light filling the room, the distant sound of machinery that made his ears twitch in irritation and that _pain _that refused to leave his head.

'_What __**has **__happened? Have I just been dreaming, asleep? Blaze…there was Blaze, who…she…she's gone. She helped me, helped our world. She helped those who would not help her…' _The hedgehog's mind caught on the memories of Blaze, her body fading into mist as she drifts away from him…_ 'Blaze is…gone. She wished me luck… I beat…well, I helped beat Solaris.' _The confused jumble of thoughts was not through lack of memory…or rather the same blurred judgment that you would often get from someone who has just woken up if you ask them what they thought, or dreamt, about while they slept, '_I must have- I guess I was asleep…dark, eternity, but over so soon…So quickly. How long?' _

"How long?" Silver finally spoke his thought aloud, leaving Eggman's question unexplained. Eggman seemed to let out a small, indignant noise resembling 'hmph' at the lack of neither an explanation nor even thanks.  
"How long?" Eggman mimicked, though without true malice, "How long since Solaris' defeat? By our time, it has been about two weeks. Considering I guess you must have moved backwards through the stream of time to get here, I don't know how long that is for you." Eggman looked at Silver expectantly, clearly hoping his observation about how long it was would allow any answers to be gleamed from the stricken hedgehog. Silver remained slow to respond, opening his mouth once, before closing it seconds after as he realized he didn't know what to say. His mind didn't know what to focus on, and was a flurry of confusion.

Silver's eyes looked down. His body felt…heavy, yet hollow. His head, his mind, his body, his heart…it all ached. He felt the creeping sensation of tears readying to well up, and-putting a hand on the nearby cold wall to stable himself-he turned himself around so his face would not be shown to Eggman. It's a strange feeling, knowing you're going to cry, even as you try and stop it. It is also a…vulnerable feeling, doing so in front of another.

"Two…weeks… Perhaps it has been seconds for me." Silver finally realized, saying aloud. Memories he'd rather not relive already causing the tears to drip over his eyelids, a single damp line already streaking down his face. He kept his voice steady, though, a deep, dulled feeling of pleasure at the realization that makes everything easier to comprehend, to make sense of. As he desperately pulled his mind away from one person, his newfound comprehension allowed him to recall something else as his brow knitted together in controlled thought.

"You…aren't normally a friend of Sonic's, are you? Shadow, Sonic, Amy…they spoke of you as more an enemy…" He realized, forcing back any remaining tears. His mind prepared to _bend _the air around his face, planning to dash away the liquid over his face psychokinetically, only to remember at the last second his mistake, and instead moved his wrists in what he hoped was a subtle movement over his face to take away any noticeable trace of his previous tears, before turning around accusingly to face Eggman, his body regaining some composure as his mind began to understand his surroundings.

A smirk was on Eggman's face, and he raised a hand to confidently stroke an end of his comically large moustache, teeth showing as the smirk turned to a grin. The grin disappeared, however, as a dulled siren sound erupted nearby.

"**Warning. Unidentified intruder in Gamma Quadrant, thermal imaging confirms life-form as a therianthropic bat. Logic computations state likelihood of intruder being GUN agent identity, "Rouge the Bat", end identity, as 99.6% positive.**"

Long before the warning message had completed, Eggman had left the cell-like room where Silver was and was in the very next room, furiously typing onto a keyboard placed on a large panel filled with various dials, knobs and buttons. Various screens were projected above said panel, each showing thermal scans of areas around the base.

"Start a thermal sweep of **all** quadrants! Activate emergency patrolling robotic units, authorize lethal force, and activate all defense systems in Gamma Quadrant! Focus all units around the main power generators!" Eggman shouted commands into the panel underneath his fingertips, checking that the base generators-all conveniently situated in the Quadrant with said intruder-were all still running at full capacity. He spun around suddenly as he hears the sound of a boot hitting steel floor, seeing Silver, now clapping both hands over his ears at the siren, take a step towards the open door from the room he was still in. Eggman pointed a finger at the hedgehog, shouting yet more commands.  
"And close the door to the Primary Cell, now!" The scientist continued to rave as the metallic sliding door, hidden in the frame beforehand, slammed shut before Silver could leave.

"Primary 'Cell'? Good to know that taking out Solaris means a lot to you." Silver almost drawled in sarcasm to nobody as he saw himself shut in. His head was aching, again, his arms and legs ached, he had none of the powers that defined him. He slumped back, sitting on the uncomfortable 'mattress' on the bed, thankful at least that the room at least mercifully dulled the sound from the sirens outside it.

He wasn't even sure he really cared about it all…about anything that was happening since he awoke to this mad, unfamiliar world.

'_Blaze…_'

...

Shadow pushed his back to a wall of the corridor he was in as soon as he heard the sirens. His ears flattened at the sudden noise, drowning out everything else in his ears as it echoed and magnified off the walls of said corridor. He remained like that for two heartbeats, until his ears dulled the high-pitched sound, losing their sensitivity. The "Ultimate-Life-Form" title was far from show, every nerve potentially able to block off any crippling pain shortly after registering it.

His ears perking up again as his senses dulled to cope with the noise, Shadow moved forward, standing in the center of the corridor and turning his head to look both ways. No robotics, cameras or other security measures in place that he hadn't already taken into account, so he hadn't set off the siren. The following message-it's piercing tone cutting through the sirens-confirmed his suspicions.

"**Warning. Unidentified intruder in Gamma Quadrant, thermal imaging confirms life-form as a therianthropic bat. Logic computations state likelihood of intruder being GUN agent identity, "Rouge the Bat", end identity, as 99.6% positive.**"

Shadow suddenly began to skate in one direction, his 'boots' automatically recognizing as soon as he leant forward in such a motion and activating, allowing him to 'run' at a dangerous pace in the close-quarters, relying on both his reflexes and the map he had memorized to get himself through the base, heedless of any noise he made. Now that the siren was triggered, there was little point to stealth, though it was likely most of the security would be now directed at Gamma Quadrant, away from him.

He was already in the Beta Quadrant, close to where one of the main control centers are, as well as the cell where Silver was held, while Gamma Quadrant was where Rouge was indeed headed-looking to sever the primary power supplies from the generators there.

'_Rouge,_ _either you're losing your touch; setting off an alarm like that, or else you're growing soft; to divert many of the security robots for me._' Shadow contemplated to himself, skidding to a halt as he turned another corner in the maze of crossing corridors he was in. Several meters away was a high-security door, a camera mounted on a form of automated weapon on one side. The weapon quickly turned to Shadow, who quickly skated back around the corner from which he came as some form of high-powered shot ricocheted off the floor where he stood a second ago, a loud ringing noise accompanying it along with a gunshot.

Rather than drawing more attention trying to take out both the turret and getting through the door, Shadow instead took advantage of one of the many loopholes in Eggman's security measures, instead looking up to the thin metal roof.

A leap and an unnaturally strong, gloved fist later, and the hedgehog peeled away 'strips' of steel from the hole he had created until it was the size that he could easily leap out of, landing on top of the roof, outside in the chilly air. He paid no mind to the small metallic sounds his boots made on the roof he currently stood on, instead taking a quick glance around.

Besides the buildings that represented 'rooms' of importance, the entire base was nothing more than a complex of what Shadow knew to be corridors, though appeared as more square-shaped tunnels snaking between the various 'rooms'. The silhouette of the generators powering the base and the multitude of lights surrounding its outside were clear a short distance away, as he himself stood on top of one of the many branching 'tunnels'. Shadow turned his eyes to the small concrete building a few meters away, off another branching 'tunnel' where he had been inside seconds ago as he was shot at by the security measures Eggman had taken.

Pity for the scientist that, as always, he hadn't thought things through, leaving the **outside **of the base completely defenseless once inside the 'perimeter' enforced by 4-meter high concrete walls, complete with various other weaponry defenses that were easily breached by both Rouge and Shadow beforehand with explosives. From here he could see the small holes near the bottom of the high walls at the different points that he and Rouge had entered from, noting the lack of any true security to stop anyone who tries to get inside in any way besides the gates or over the top of the gunned wall.

Skimming over the remaining meters until he stepped off the 'tunnel' and onto the roof of the building-a mere couple of centimeters above the roof of the 'tunnel' that moved into it'-he now stood on, he took on a half-kneeling position, one boot flat on the roof, one knee flat along it. Raising his right fist, while using his left hand to steady himself further, he drove his raised hand into the roof, once again punching through the roof which-unlike the walls-were made with the same material that Eggman seems to use almost exclusively in any aspect of any of his bases-ordinary stainless steel. The resounding 'thud' shook through his arm and shoulder, as he peeled away strips of steel from the hole with the same ease as before when he left the corridor; until-after a quick look to confirm where he was landing-he dropped him through to land in a brightly-lit room.

"Before you ask me the same question as last time: No, the door would not have been easier." Shadow remarked as he instantly saw a familiar, and clearly obese, figure turn to face him as the hedgehog stood up to his full height…of less than 4 feet. Hearing his own voice, Shadow noticed that his hearing senses were back to normal sensitivity, and the siren itself had been dulled, though was continuing-albeit at a low volume.

"Shadow, my boy!" Eggman grinned, throwing his arms wide happily as if expecting the dark hedgehog to simply run up and hug him, "It's good to see you, you came just in time for me to-"

"Save it, I'm here for Silver." Shadow cut the eccentric 'doctor' off, dismissing his ranting with a wave of a hand. Far from stopping, Eggman continued, his grin-if anything-only growing wider.

"Ah yes, Silver. Good to see him again, wasn't it? Didn't think I'd be seeing him for my lifetime, I guess 2 weeks isn't bad then, is it? I'll say 'hi' to him, for you, don't worry." The doctor continued to proclaim cockily, "Oh, and while you're here, would you mind testing out a new design for my robots? Thanks." Eggman answered for Shadow, causing a frown to appear on the face of the Ultimate-Life-Form.

Shadow took a quick step back as a metal panel he hadn't noticed beforehand on the 'floor' in front of him dropped out, a hunkered metal figure appearing in the 'hole' formed, being raised slowly on a new panel. As the new panel-with it's clearly robotic load-locked into the place of the previous panel, distinct 'whirrs' were heard as the robot 'unfolded', rising into a standing position of at least 5 feet. The design was the same humanoid design as the rest of Eggman's new basic guardian robots, though no loose wires were noticeable through a full-body covering of various metallic plates.

Shadow took in its look in a heartbeat. Clearly more effectively armored than normal units, its plating gleamed off in the light, its colour warping slightly as a tell-tale sign of Titanium, though the thickness of the metal seemed to be at least several centimeters thick on each plate. No wiring could be seen through the 'armor' covering, though the bulging of various plates signified shock absorbers, concealed weaponry, concealed hydraulics, or 'all of the above'. Painted in clashing dark blue and red colours, the Eggman 'insignia' of said doctor's face was present on the shoulders of the machine.

The robot was the first to strike, rushing at Shadow without warning, covering too many meters with each step to be using only its legs for movement. Shadow's own movements were too fast to see easily as he simply sidestepped, letting the robot rush past him, revealing its back to have several small jets placed on it. Rather than careening into a wall, the robot moved with a surprising agility, skidding to a halt on its side before turning to face the hedgehog again before a new explosion of sound occurred within the room-a gunshot.

At almost the same time, the robot stopped suddenly, looking down at a new dent in a part of its plating on its torso, before seemingly analyzing it and turning its head to the wall near it. A small black hole was visible in the wall, and the machine suddenly lifted a hand to the hole, before with a small 'clang', a small metal object shot out of the hole into the open hand of the robot, clearly through magnetic force.

Shadow lowered the handgun he had drawn from his quills as the robot rushed past him, quickly returning it to a place in his quills. If a bullet from the simple weapon ricocheted off the robot at such close range, then such a weapon was going to be useless. Eggman must have used some form of composite material, not simple titanium, mused the therianthropic hedgehog, watching as the robot dropped what remained of the crushed 10mm bullet, letting it clatter on the ground.

'_Bulletproof.' _Shadow thought, now drawing his hand out of his quills, this time holding something that raised Eggman's eyebrows.

"A Chaos Emerald, Shadow? Not a little overkill?" Eggman taunted from behind Shadow, his voice muffled from the thick plastic wall he was behind, having been lowered silently from the roof, judging by the wires from its pinnacle.

The machine took a step towards Shadow, and another, no notable speed in each as it appeared to gauge the hedgehog, waiting for Shadow to make a move.

And he was more than happy to.

"_**Chaos Spear!**_" Called Shadow, holding the crimson-red Chaos Emerald in his outstretched arm as countless yellow needles of light erupted from the gem's flat surface. The spark-like shots fired in an arc a meter, before dissipating in mid-air, the Chaos Emerald suddenly shaking in Shadow's hand before losing its luster, returning to a dull dark red. The robot took no notice of the spectacle, not appearing to even register the attempted attack. Shadow returned the gem to his quills without any sign of surprise, as mocking, high-pitched laughter broke out behind him.

"Shadow, Shadow, Shadow…Don't waste your energy, surely you've figured out that my anti-Chaos drives are in effect, or else you would have tried to use a Chaos Control to get in here in the first place. I'm pretty sure you haven't tried to teleport inside my base yet, since not only would my sensors have picked it up, but you would have burn marks all over you." The doctor behind him explained. Shadow turned his head to the right slightly, as if to reply to Eggman. As soon as he opened his mouth, however, the robot took its chance, rushing forward, propelled by its jets, ready to ram into the much small hedgehog.

What happened next was a blur of activity leaving the machine almost frozen in place, right arm in a position clearly ready to hit whatever it was going to ram into, with the black hedgehog, much shorter, seemingly hitting the machine in the abdominal area.

"Wh-what! No! Not even with your strength-…th-those alloys were strong enough to survive an impact the equivalent of a magnet train at full speed!" Eggman shouted in disbelief, expecting to hear the crunching of bone, not the puncturing of metal.

Holding the inactive robot up with his left hand, Shadow slowly took away his hand from the torso of the machine.

There gleamed the flat end of a large, dull-red gem, its sharp end having been shoved into the metal by Shadow, using both his own strength and the robot's inertia to puncture the armor plating. There was silence for a second, before a slow clapping from the other end of the room, the scientist providing them smiling dangerously.

"Ingenious; using an unbreakable gem as a makeshift spear. I hadn't considered such a weapon from you." Shadow looked at the 'doctor', surprised that he seemed, for once, to be making an attempt to learn from his mistakes. The hedgehog's lips twisted into a grimace.

A cold, crushing feeling enveloped his right wrist. Pulling against it, he struck out with his left arm, impulse taking over. Shadow found the grip to be resilient, his left arm striking metal with little-to-no effect before being gripped as well. Shadow looked back carefully to see both arms of the robot he previously thought destroyed now holding both of his wrists, Chaos Emerald still jammed into its chest.

"Good to know I'm still able to get your guard down sometimes, Shadow. By the way, you wouldn't **believe **how long it takes to put a proper backup system into a small robotic model, its almost as hard as putting a second respiratory system in a human-or hedgehog-body, really. Still, it seems to have paid off."

Shadow subdued his instincts that yelled at him to teleport out of the grasp, unwilling to risk the anti-Chaos drives interfering. He felt himself lifted off the ground by his arms, his wrists now being crushed slowly with incredible force as he was lifted until his head was level with the robots. The hedgehog swung his body weight, kicking both of his powerful legs into the chest of the machine in front of him. Despite a kicking force that would have put a horse to shame easily, barely a dent registered on the titanium cover, though Shadow nonetheless held both boots firmly on the machine, sending mental commands and adjusting what he could of his body until the jets on said boots erupted. Shadow held the intense heat onto the plating, the titanium rapidly changing colour at the heat, slowly melting through and-more importantly-conducting a lot of heat through the armor plating.

The machine suddenly brought Shadow's wrists together until it adjusted so it held both in its left hand, its own strength still somehow far exceeding the Ultimate-Life-Form's own. A slot opened in its now-free right arm, a pistol folding out and held threateningly to the hedgehog's chest as Shadow reluctantly de-activated his rocket 'skates', letting his feet drop until they hung in mid-air again. Shadow repressed a sigh at the state he'd gotten himself into. Suddenly his slack body swung slightly as a noticeable tremor ran through the building, closely followed by the unmistakable roar of an explosion.

"**Warning, Warning. Efforts to neutralize intruder in Gamma Quadrant have been unsuccessful. Intruder has caused severe structural damage to Generators one, three and four. Base power levels have dropped from 99.2% to 5.6%. Structural damage was caused by an overload of Generator two, resulting in explosion. Base now running on backup generators and all non-essential equipment is shutting down as per protocol. Lighting, primary robotics and door systems are still functioning; all other security measures have been dropped to conserve power. Turrets are offline. Cameras are offline. Heating is offline. Anti-Chaos drives are offline. -**"

"Silence, SILENCE! Cancel all warning messages, turn Anti-Chaos drives ON! On, now!" Eggman yelled out loud, though already far too late.

Shadow teleported out of the machine's grasp, appearing only centimeters lower, feet now on the floor as the hedgehog tore out the now-glowing Chaos Emerald from the robot, quickly teleporting a few meters backwards before the robot could react, lining up the Chaos Emerald carefully as the robot stood there, waiting again for Shadow to make a move.

'_It's a_ _pity for it that I suspect that its 'strategy' against me is based on the assumption that Anti-Chaos drives are in effect._' Shadow briefly guessed before shouting again,

"_**Chaos Spear!**_"

Needles of energy once against rushed from the gem, arcing without fail towards the existing tear in the machine's armor from the Chaos Emerald previously, the sparks hitting the vulnerable wiring still visible past the crumpled armor, exploding on impact.

The robot stood for a second-the armor around its previous 'wound' charred, the countless wires having been melted, torn apart or fused together from the explosion-before seemingly overbalancing and collapsing to the floor, completely lifeless.

Eggman, however, was rapidly jabbing a button repetitively on the panel in front of him, furiously shouting out.

"Run diagnostic, _**run diagnostic! **_Divert all robotic patrols towards this console! Repeat my order! What is wrong with you?" Eggman raved as once-flashing lights on the panel in front of him began to fail, the entire room's lights dimming as power dropped. Shadow noticed the familiar noise of metal sliding across metal as all the doors around the room opened suddenly on their own accord, opening for safety purposes as power is lost so to prevent entrapment.

But it was a form stumbling weakly out of one of the doors that caught his attention. The pale hedgehog took a few steps outside the small room as the door opened; his body slumped, as he looked around in poorly-concealed amazement before his eyes came to rest on Shadow.

"Shadow." The figure stated, his voice a quiet rasp as he took a few more steps towards Shadow, his back straightening as he appeared unwilling to show weakness. Shadow noted the lack of colour in the designs upon his clothing as he did before, as well as the clear unbalanced nature of his stride, as if he expected someone to be holding him up rather than stepping alone.

"Silver." Shadow replied in acknowledgement, skating over slowly to prevent the silver hedgehog too much more discomfort, Eggman temporarily forgotten. As they both stopped in front of each other, Shadow took the opportunity to look Silver over, noting without feeling the dried tear-marked face, blurred eyes and unkempt fur. Silver was the first to make an actual move, somewhat uncertainly holding out a hand to shake.

"Well…didn't think I'd be seeing you again. For a guy that took out a god two weeks ago, you're looking a damn sight better than me." Silver remarked, a slight lopsided smile evident on his face, though not much else. Shadow opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a call from across the room.

"Well look who it is again! It's been awhile, Silver." A female voice called, as the hedgehogs turned to see Rouge standing in another doorway to the base, grinning at the two, "Well, looks like you handled yourself well enough, with my help of course." The bat said to Shadow with a wink. The black hedgehog made no attempt to ask how she knew of his previous fight, assuming that she had gotten a hold of camera records of the room, and instead turned his attention to the up-to-now ignored Doctor, who was now slinking out of the room towards the nearest exit.

Shadow shrugged contemptuously at the surprisingly feeble escape attempt, completely ignoring him as Rouge walked over to the two hedgehogs, boots clicking loudly on the cold floor. Silver suddenly stood up slightly straighter, privately regretting it as his head swam in dizziness at the slight yet sudden movement. Seeing Rouge open her mouth to speak to Silver, Shadow suddenly lifted the Chaos Emerald he still clutched from his battle with Eggman's robot, calling out two words as both hedgehog and bat turned to face him.

"_**Chaos Control!**_"

The three disappeared in a sudden flash of red light.

Yes…sorry if the end was a little sudden. I've looked over it several times and haven't really written one I like much for this chapter. I know, Rouge's entrance seems rushed, indeed, Silver's does too, but I'll have to make it up next chapter.

In other news, I have decided that I have a love-hate relationship with 'fight scenes' in my writing. I like to think that I'm a good 'choreographer' of fights as such, but though I can visualize them in my head well enough, I can never seem to write them down in the exact way I like. I can't really **write **them, in short.

Though, I have made Shadow's personality a slight bit lighter than I normally would in this case, to represent the utter contempt he has for Eggman. Silver is now less childish and dependant than he was in my previous version of this story, and Rouge? Well….she's Rouge, as always.

Well, I guess that's it. Next chapter will come at some point or another, but reviews will certainly speed the process. I noticed some Alerts and Favourites, which I am truly grateful for, but overall very few reviews for my prologue.

Well, thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 2: Two Hedgehogs and a Bat

Yep, finally back. If you want to thank someone, thank the anonymous reviewer that came out of nowhere, with a simple message and a simpler name: **A Fan**. To that person, who I am obviously unable to respond normally to, I'd like to express my...well, admit the boost in ego, really. The honour of having a reader describe themselves as "a fan". In truth, there are many, many better writers on this site. Many more talented, intriguing, skilled and-perhaps most of all-reliable writers from just I.

But...thank you. And that sparked me to move on, and finally begin to write on this again.

Thank you, as well, to all else who reviewed. This time, my thanks go out to an excellent writer, much like myself, only more talented and likely to update, **Kamala11**, and though I might be late in saying so, thank you for all of the helpful tips and constructive criticisms.Another thanks goes out, yet again, to **Rylum** for sticking by the story and continuing to add in his own advice.

Cheers to you both. 

Well...onto the story, it seems. I genuinely hope you enjoy reading the chapter.

**Chapter 2: Two Hedgehogs and a Bat walk into a room... **

Three sets of boots _clacked_ on tiled floor, followed by a grunt. The culprits? Two hedgehogs and a bat. The grunt came from Silver as Rouge and Shadow managed to catch one of his arms each as he fell, losing his balance utterly as they materialized many, many miles away from where they were seconds ago.

"I-I...sorry. You could've given me more warni-" Silver began, his body held up by both Shadow and Rouge as dizziness swamped his body from the sudden change in temperature, lighting and surroundings. He hadn't expected the jolt bringing him back upright by his companions, having subconsciously expected the more gentle stability his psychokinetic powers would have granted him. It had taken him a second to realize it wasn't his own power, but by his two arms that he was being supported. As he was about to finish his sentence, the silver hedgehog stopped suddenly, pulling an arm out of Rouge's grip to rapidly place a hand over his mouth, his body now supported entirely by Shadow.

'_Oh shi...shit...now's not the-_' "U-urkk!" Silver lost his trail of garbled thought quickly, his entire body crumpling until his knees hit the cold surface of the floor of whatever room they were in, both hands now over his mouth as his throat and stomach spasmed, retching violently.

"_U-uk..._kk..." a second set of retching quickly followed the first, nothing coming out of his mouth or throat, only the gasps of pain as his stomach flexed again, dry-retching into his gloved hands as his entire body shook, coherent thought lost to him as his body tried futilely to vomit what it just didn't have. He heard the distinct sound of heeled boots running away, opening what sounded like a very-heavy duty door, as a warm hand clasped onto his shoulder, holding the now _very _pale hedgehog steady.

"Someone get a medic, a stretcher, hell-even a glass of water! Don't just stare at me, go get something!" yelled what Silver recognized through the haze of discomfort and pain as Rouge's voice. He breathed in as the second retches subsided, calming his body enough to let him say he was fine, but as soon as he opened his mouth to say something to that extent...  
"U-u...Rrrrk!" another fit or retches, specks of spittle and bile now evident on his normally pristine gloves, took over Silver's body, this time ending with a fit of coughing, irritating his dry throat. As his body shook ferociously from the internal battering, the hand on his shoulder clasped firmer, somewhat comfortingly.

Silver lost track of time as he retched, over and over again, his body losing the little strength it had and left him almost entirely relying upon Shadow's hand to stop him from collapsing undignified onto the floor. Finally, after a short flurry of footsteps and calls, his head was lifted up after another series of coughs until he was looking into the face of Rouge, a glass of water held to his mouth.

"Drink this, the medic's on his way..." the bat advised, slowly tipping the water into Silver's mouth, which he drank thankfully, instantly feeling the irritation start to recede as he grasped the glass himself, drinking voraciously. Silver closed his eyes as he swished the glorious, clean water around in his mouth, before swallowing when the bits of bile he tasted was too much, before jerking slightly, his eyes opening when he felt a cold, damp sensation come over his cheek, opening his eyes to see Rouge sitting there, rubbing a damp cloth over his face slowly.

Silver made a feeble attempt to brush away Rouge's arm, blushing slightly at the treatment he was unused to receiving from anyone besides Blaze, kneeling up slightly as he found himself breathing so much easier.  
"Th-thank you...I'm better, I don't need any more help. I was just a bit dizzy, that's all." Silver assured Rouge, pulling himself off the ground as if to prove it, standing up straight almost proudly, before doubling over, falling to his knees again as a sharp cramp took over his abdomen.

"Ah! D-damn it! Cramp..." he made out, frantically trying to soothe the sharp pain as Rouge grinned suddenly in front of him, suddenly realizing.  
"Perhaps a chair and a meal might be better for you than a medic at this point. You feeling up to walking, Silver?" Rouge agreed, offering a hand to support the frail hedgehog. Silver chuckled at the words, thankful that his cramp seemed to have disappeared, but remained kneeling for a moment, giving a glance at the state of his gloves, followed by a bashfully thankful smile to Rouge as she knowing offered out the damp cloth she had been using to tend to Silver before. After wiping his gloves as clean as he could from the bile, he took Rouge's offered hand with his own right hand, the cloth held securely in his left.

This time, as Silver regained his footing with the help of Rouge, he finally had a chance to get his bearings on where he was; now he felt more stable on his own legs. They were in a moderately sized dome-shaped room, interestingly carrying no features whatsoever inside of it save a single large icon with a number next to it printed onto one side of the otherwise featureless room: **GUN6**. The only door was an open, heavy-duty door with a small window in it, leading to a hallway. The entire room appeared to serve no purpose whatsoever.

A gentle tug on his arm by Rouge reminded him where he was, as he realized with a faint blush of embarrassment that he must have been lost in thought for a few seconds there. Rouge smiled at Silver knowingly, answering his unspoken question.

"Teleportation room. Recent changes in some bases have left space for such rooms. No use whatsoever, besides somewhere that he-", Rouge gestured at Shadow, who raised an eyebrow back, but made no other movement, "-can Chaos Control to without accidentally ending up inside someone. The number '6' refers to this particular facility." Rouge explained, gently pulling Silver until he was walking beside her, Shadow following behind, silently. Silver inwardly shuddered at the thought of teleporting inside someone else's body. His mind conjured up images of skin peeling, bone separating...  
"So, Silver, what's say you meet our...'boss' over a meal?" Rouge questioned Silver, turning to look at his expression.

'_They're...avoiding asking me anything, yet. Unlike Eggman. Thank you, Rouge. Thank you, Shadow._' Silver suddenly registered, as neither had so much as mentioned his re-appearance from nowhere. '_How long was it, since they saw me last? Eggman said it was two weeks, I think._' Silver thought. His fatigue was finally falling away, though hunger remained. He just has to keep his mind busy-

'_Blaze...Huh, not thinking about it, about you...it's easier said than done._'

"Silver? You good to meet him? Hello? Maybe you should get some rest, don't want you collapsing on us. Bad career move in GUN, having visitors black out on your boss." Rouge joked when no response was given, bringing Silver once again back to the present.  
"Oh, yeah, sure. I mean, I'm good to go." Silver answered, partially distractedly, but determinedly.

'_Now is _not_ the time, or the place, to...no. It's not the time to think about it. Not yet._'

"Alright then, if you say so. Shadow? Mind getting the Commander? I'll bring Silver down to the DF." Rouge called back to Shadow. As the last syllable fell, Shadow gave a solitary nod, and was off, causing the fur of both hedgehog and bat to flutter as the black hedgehog sped through the relatively empty corridor. Silver looked over towards the direction Shadow had went, down the long hallway, before being pulled in the opposite direction gently by Rouge. Before silence had a chance to fall between them Silver deliberately started asking the first questions that came to mind.

"'DF'? Dining-something, I guess? Where is this place, anyway...actually, _what _is this place? Since when did world heroes have a boss?" Silver asked, only realizing how genuinely curious he was after he'd spoken aloud the last questions. Somehow, it didn't seem right that the bat and, in particular, the hedgehog that had made claims about being the "Ultimate Life Form" working in this...strangely well-built facility, whatever it's for. Rouge herself must have seen the absurdity from here Silver must see it, as she nodded, the smile not leaving her face.

"Ah Silver, thought you'd never ask. Dining Facility, not that it's relevant, by the way. We're in Canada, if you know of Twenty-First century nations. If not, we're far up north. This is a GUN base, hence the GUN insignia on everything. The Guardian Units of Nations, that is. They're basically a largely independent, international military force that attempts to protect humans from threats...both externally, and-far more commonly-internally. Politics. Wars. They're here to make sure the planet doesn't blow up, regardless of who's trying to do it, to put it basically." Rouge gave her explanation, adding as an afterthought as a response to Silver's final question; "Oh, and I gotta fill my time with something, eh? Same thing for Shadow, really."

Silver frowned at the final comments as he instinctively took the explanation down to memory, finding it hard to believe that either would do it for the sake of "filling time". But her description of the "G.U.N"...it made him realize how little he knew of this world. Silver knew of the concept of "Nations", "Military" and a basic grasp of "Politics" from old records on salvaged books and computers, but his view of his entire world was a society of less than a thousand people, constantly fighting for survival against the demonic Iblis, with the only person he spoke to on a regular basis being-

'_No._'

Silver desperately asked another question, unwilling to let his mind wander.

"So...how far would we be from Soleanna, say? And so...who _is_ your boss?" Rouge laughed aloud at Silver's questions; an unrestrained laughter, which in itself still nonetheless held a note of dignity in it as it echoed through the halls, causing a passing soldier to glance down at the two for a second in surprise, before giving a clumsy salute and hurrying on, leaving Rouge to ignore him.

"Soleanna? Miles. Miles and miles and miles. We aren't even on the same continent, I'm afraid. And you'll meet our boss soon enough, and be respectful. No pressure." Rouge said once her laughter died out, as they neared the end of the hallway, opening out to a far larger room. The room itself was brightly lit, as was the rest of the base, but of the rows and rows of tables and inside the room, only one on the far side was occupied, two men-officers of some kind by the uniform-arguing over some inaudible topic. Food-serving stalls were in the process of having their warming lights switched off and some of the food taken off the shelves and out of the stalls to be packed away for the night, eaten or thrown out.

"Take a seat; I'll see what's left that's edible." Rouge offered, gesturing towards a small, nearby table, before making her way towards one of the stalls. Silver nodded absently, idly gesturing towards a chair next to him, frowning for a second as...nothing happened. He was readying to once again focus his attention inward before remembering he'd just find nothing. No energies. No move whatever you see. No catching yourself when you trip or mentally pushing away what's in front of you or catching a thrown or falling object...

Silver let a sigh escape, perhaps slightly louder than he'd intended, and drew up the chair himself, taking a seat before holding his hands over his head, a headache returning. Withdrawing his hands for a second, his ears pricked up as he realized the two officers on the other side of the room staring at him. He didn't even have the energy to glare back; he just let his head lie on the comfortingly cold and solid surface of the metallic table, clearing his mind of all distractions, all sounds, just resting on the table.

A _thunk _on the table next to him brought his head up with a jolt, instantly regretting it as another bout of dizziness hit him. In front of him was a plate, knife fork and-

"Salad. Tuna or Potato, didn't know which you liked so I got as much as was left of both. They've packed away or eaten everything else." Rouge described, shrugging apologetically as she sat on a chair on the opposite side of the table, nodding to him as she sat. "Well go on, eat whatever you like."

Silver picked up the fork, experimentally shovelling a mouthful of the tuna salad into his mouth. The only food in any abundance that he was used to was canned products, along with the occasional plastic wrapped cheese, bread or other product that miraculously survived. Blaze had always liked tuna, when they could find it, so he wondered if this was similar...

Silver's eyes almost literally lit up at the first mouthful, suddenly eating at a much faster pace, swallowing each mouthful almost as soon as it entered his mouth, only just keeping a basic hold of table manners in the process. Rouge chuckled politely at his sudden enthusiasm.

"Either you really are hungry, or we happen to accidentally have the best salad in the world, though I suspect the former." she stated, once again refraining from mentioning anything along the lines of 'what he was used to', not wishing to press him for anything, at least not until the Commander got here. Silver simply nodded, managing a small break after his next mouthful to talk.

"It's great! Thanks." he made out, before going straight back to eating, leaving Rouge to laugh quietly to herself. Rouge suddenly looked over Silver's shoulder at something, and Silver could see over her shoulder in turn the two G.U.N officers on the other side of the room scramble to their feet to give hasty, yet practised, salutes to someone behind Silver.

Silver's fur prickled as he guessed the reason, hastily swallowing the wonderfully fresh food in his mouth before deciding to exercise what he knew of manners and stood up, turning to look at the man who walked into the wide room, followed by Shadow, even as his headache protested at the sudden change of gravity by standing up.

Silver wasn't sure what he expected of Rouge and Shadow's "boss", but the Commander wasn't all that far from it. Except older. And with stranger eyes. And taller. And currently looking down directly at him with both eyes, eerily distinct from each other by their blue and amber colours.

Silver was saved by having to think of what to do as the Commander held out a hand once he was close enough, Silver, slightly relieved, grasping it in a shake.

'_Well...at least __**that**__ I know._'

"Silver. It is an honour to finally meet you, something I had not anticipated in my lifetime. I am the Commander of G.U.N. I imagine you're exhausted, so I'll keep this quick and won't keep you from your meal, but we do have to get a few things out of the way." stated the Commander. His neutral tone led Silver to wonder how often any emotion crept into his voice.

"Okay, then...thanks." Silver said as respectfully as he could, nevertheless distracted, unable to help his hand creeping up to cover his aching forehead. Before he could apologize for the state he was in, a surprisingly firm hand pushed on his shoulder, leading Silver back into his chair. Silver muttered a thanks to the black hedgehog responsible as the Commander walked to the other side of the desk, sitting next to Rouge who hadn't stood up yet.

"I know you're not in the best condition right now. I'd offer something to clear your headache, but our painkillers haven't had the best results the last time we tried on non-humans such as yourself or Rouge. Feel free to eat as I speak, I only have a few questions that can't already be filled in by Shadow." The Commander briefly explained, clasping his hands on the table in front of him as he looked at Silver. Silver nodded in response, tenderly taking another mouthful of his meal, finding it too awkward to look into the stony gaze of the human opposite. The commander continued, as Shadow took a seat next to Silver.

"Okay. Two weeks ago you helped Sonic the Hedgehog and Shadow subdue and destroy Solaris, at some point I hear you lost your friend Blaze. I'm sorry for your loss. However, can you describe what happened after Solaris was defeated? Where did you go, back to the same future or a different one?"

Silver blinked, having put down his forkful of food as the Commander started to ask his question, looking down and closing his eyes. He ignored his throat closing up, the tears already welling in his eyes, but instead tried his best to remember. Why was it so hard to think? What** did** happen? He remembers Solaris, and then...

"Nothing. Just...void. Maybe I was unconscious, asleep... But after Solaris, the next solid thing I remember is waking up in Eggman's base a few hours ago. Is Solaris really gone though? Is the world...safe?" Silver asked uncertainly. The very idea of a world without some constant, looming peril was...dizzying.

"Never is the world entirely safe, but Solaris is gone, yes. After what you did for everyone, and everything in stopping it, it was the least the G.U.N could do to bring you out of Eggman's base. For now, with as few answers as we have, though, we have to assume you're here in this present time to stay, and we have to make arrangements. We'll set you up with whatever medical aid is necessary, as well as property, currency and identity in the same manner we arranged for Sonic, Shadow and a few others. But I still have a couple of simple questions for now. Do you have a middle or last name, as trivial as the information might sound. And more importantly, what are your intentions now that you're here? We can offer you work in G.U.N, of course, though I understand you seem to have lost touch with your psychokinetic powers?" the Commander rattled off the facts and questions as if by perfect memory. Silver, reeling with the suddenness of everything, barely got his head around the last few questions, answering as best he could.

"U-uhh. No, no other name. Just Silver the Hedgehog. I don't have any intentions...I just wanna have some time to think, I guess, for now. And I don't know about my powers. They just feel...drained, or out of my reach."

The Commander looked at the youth, frowning briefly before standing up, holding out a hand when Silver scrambled to do the same.

"No, no, you sit down and finish eating. Sorry to disturb you. I'll see what I can arrange, but for now you can talk with agents Shadow and Rouge when you're ready. They'll set you up with somewhere you can rest quietly, unless you need anything else. Sonic and Tails would be happy to see you, or you might be able to arrange something with Amy, if she remembers you. I fear Solaris' destruction affected the minds of those whom haven't been accustomed to similar energies such as those radiating from Chaos Emeralds, and we haven't checked yet how much she recalls what happened. Goodbye for now, I'm sure we'll speak later when you feel up to it." the Commander finished, striding out of the room before Silver had a chance to respond. Somewhat grateful for that to be over, Silver pushed aside his meal to lay his aching head on the table once again, ignoring Rouge and Shadow still sitting nearby, and ignoring the tightness of his throat he felt once again at the thought of Amy not knowing him anymore.

"...Thanks." Silver mumbled, loud enough for them to hear, "So Eggman's your enemy now, huh? And how's Sonic?" Silver finished, glad to be able to ask people he actually knew, however slightly. It was Rouge who responded, quietly, for which Silver was grateful as it didn't irritate his headache.

"Eggman's more or less always been our enemy, Sonic's too. There was a bit of an exception with the Solaris event, you might say. We weren't going to trust him with you, let's put it that way. Sonic's been doing as well as he always has, which is extremely. But now that you're here, know that you're welcome wherever you want to stay. I have a house that I'm almost never at anyway, Sonic would be happy to make space for you. I'd recommend against Knuckles or Amy personally, one because he doesn't have anywhere for you to stay anyway to my knowledge and one because spending time around her is never relaxing." Rouge said kindly, choosing to tactfully ignore the slight blush on Silver's face when she suggested him staying at her place. Silver's head raised off the table, frowning as one major person wasn't mentioned.

"What about Shadow?" Silver questioned out of curiosity, looking between the faces of bat and hedgehog sitting around him, faces he only knew mildly to put it lightly, probably less than a couple of hours in either of their company totalled. Overriding his confusion, though, was a daze of how many people would welcome him so. Silver wasn't used to being so openly welcomed by so many he barely knew. He didn't even notice Rouge look between Shadow's and Silver's faces, cautiously.

"Well...I...guess I didn't really think you would have wanted to stay with him, no offense Shadow. I mean, if he's okay with it it's fine, and I certainly imagine it will be quiet..." Rouge said, taken aback by the suggestion of someone feeling comfortable with staying in the same house as the dark, silent Ultimate Life-Form, conveniently forgetting how little Silver knew Shadow. She looked at Shadow, suddenly curious as to his reaction. Shadow made an almost imperceptible nod, his face unreadable.

"He can stay if he wishes."

Silver breathed out in relief. He wasn't quite at ease at staying with the borderline flirtatious bat, and didn't really feel up to anymore meetings, anymore questions and explanations, yet.

"In that case I'll stay with him, if that's all alright." Silver reasoned, returning to his meal now that such a weight was off his mind. Rouge's incredulous expression spoke volumes.

"Oh. Alright then, I suppose. I'll leave you with him, then. I myself still have a few things to do tonight, but remember to always come to me or the Commander if you need anything, or ask Shadow to bring you to either of us. Also feel free to see Sonic and his friends when you feel ready." Rouge said, standing up. Silver managed a genuine smile up at the bat.

"Thanks, Rouge. I'll see you another time then, I guess." Silver awkwardly farewelled, ducking his head at Rouge's sudden roguish wink before she left the room quickly, gliding near to the floor on wings seemingly far too small to support her.

Silver turned his head to look at Shadow, next, unbothered by his simple stare. If anything, Silver had gotten used to such an expression from Blaze long ago.

"Thanks for letting me stay, by the way. So, er, how are we going to get to your-"

"I'll teleport us both there when you're ready. Finish your meal." Shadow interrupted, crossing his arms, sitting stiffly in his chair. Silver nodded, actually grateful for the short reply as he returned to his meal. Though the salad was probably overall a small meal, by the standards of Silver, used more so to rationing food, it was a feast, and he barely made it through half of it before he pushed the plate away, standing up, glad his headache was finally clearing now that his stomach felt comfortably warm and full.

"Okay, I'm ready. I'll try not to vomit this time." Silver promised, looking at Shadow as he pulled out the bright red Chaos Emerald from somewhere in his fur. The only reply Silver got was in two words.

"_**Chaos Control!**_"

Wow. I haven't written anything in a very long time. I've been caught up in so many other things. But I've finally finished another chapter of one of my stories, and I'm proud to have done so. I truly hope you are enjoying the story so far, and please don't hesitate to send in questions, criticisms, mistakes or reactions to this chapter through reviews. And if that "A Fan" is reading this: Get a profile, and I'll respond next time. ^^'

I respond to just about every review I get.

I hope to hear feedback, if you have the time. Even if you don't, thank you so much for reading, expect more to come (in time) and Until Next Time, Farewell!


	4. Chapter 3: Reflections Across Time

Well, I haven't written anything in a very, very long time. Yet I constantly desired to. So...here I am, finally back, at least for now, and at least for one update. Perhaps I will continue this with a more timely update soon.

A lot of things have been happening in my life, recently, but I know I can find companionship in some form in this website. I have all of you, my readers, to thank for reviewing, watching and/or messaging me. I have all of you to thank for the memories I will always keep of this site.

I apologize for that brief period of sentimentality. ^^'

Anyway, I'd like to thank **CrazyMuffinAssassin, MoonlightXmas, SoNiCrOxMaIsOx **and **Snickerdoodle8P **for their reviews on the most recent chapter. 

I hope you enjoy the newest instalment!

**Chapter 3: Reflections Across Time**

As slated floor was replaced by scorched carpet, Shadow steadied himself with a thought, reaching out an arm to hold Silver up too if need be. Regardless, it seemed to be unnecessary as Silver managed to rebalance himself without too much difficulty, having been given warning. Shadow's eyes flicked to Silver as the far younger hedgehog managed to stand up straight with slightly unwieldy movements. Shadow idly pointed to an open door to his right in the hallway they stood in.

"The bathroom's right there if you need." Shadow remarked in case Silver's previous sickness returned. Silver, having taken the teleport far better this time though, shook his head.

"No, no. I'm alright this time. Still, is there anywhere I can lie down?" Silver asked, his voice sounding far clearer than beforehand.

Shadow ran his eyes over the hedgehog, taking him in for the first time. Silver's near-ivory fur was streaked with tiny portions of ash, other areas mildly singed. Underneath the fur, hidden unless someone were to look while as close as Shadow was now, Silver's skin was riddled across the body with tiny red scratches, with larger bruises covering other parts of his body, though through all of the body fur the only indication of them were the patches ever-so-slightly darker shades of fur.

Silver's eyes flitted about, taking in so much about the area they were in, to an almost paranoid level as if expecting an attack to come from any location. His face, at such a close range, was also seen to hide scratches and other minor damage, which Shadow knew for certain must have been from the fight with Solaris which - to Sonic and Shadow's perceptions - was a whole two weeks ago.

The overly-pale skin betraying how sick the young hedgehog truly was earlier was already returning to a slightly more natural colour, and aside from the minor damage across his body the young hedgehog appeared to be without permanent harm. His sickness seemed to be - not unlike sickness tends to with Sonic, Knuckles, Rouge and most therianthropic species - passing quickly without too much effect.

His face held the touch of a frown, one that had almost always been on for the time Shadow had known him, but Shadow also knew that Silver's unusually frail body hid the powerful energies the hedgehog could command at will, though it didn't take a genius to see, with the lack of colour along the lines in Silver's garb, and with the hedgehog's awkward movements and slightly unsure stride and actions, that those energies that normally supported him at will were gone, possibly from the exertion exerted when he fought alongside Sonic and Shadow.

Shadow registered all that he saw in an eyeblink, and let out an imperceptible sigh as he started to walk down the corridor, not looking back at Silver as he spoke.

"The bedroom's right next to you, opposite the bathroom." Shadow replied, adding an afterthought, spoken seriously, "You're not in your time anymore, Silver. Iblis isn't going to suddenly rise up again and attack."

Shadow couldn't see Silver's silent, grimacing nod, but he did hear the squeak of a doorhandle and Silver's steps as he turned to look into the room. Shadow was interrupted by Silver's voice as the dark hedgehog reached the end of the warm, carpeted corridor, about to descend the flight of stairs there.

"Shadow...this is your room, though, isn't it?"

There was something in Silver's voice. Uncertainty, Shadow decided, uncertainty and confusion. Shadow let out a grunt, calling back without breaking his pace as he went down the stairs.

"Yeah, I don't usually need to sleep, though. As far as I'm concerned, the house is yours for the night. Kitchen's downstairs if you need something, I'll be back sometime tomorrow." Shadow explained, finishing as he pulled the front door to the house closed, and he was gone.

...

Silver's next words died on his lips. He didn't understand. There was so much he still meant to ask, so much that didn't make sense.

He smiled softly and sadly to himself, looking around the corridor and the room he'd just opened. Though he could tell from the currents of warm air that the house must be somehow heated, it was far colder than anything he was used to; day and night were hard to distinguish between in any sense with a sky constantly filled with smoke and clouds, the city of Soleanna bathed purely in the light and warmth of the endless lava flows that he was used to.

In a time that has never occurred, and will never occur.

It wasn't hard to tell that the room he looked into was Shadow's; the bed was lower to the ground than what Silver was used to, the remains of the more common beds designed for human use. Furthermore, a single painting lay on a wall, and a single photo frame lay face-down on a bedside table. A nightstand.

Silver stepped into the room. He had expected more of a scent, considering its use as someone's bedroom. But then, Shadow had implied he rarely used it, and Silver couldn't remember any particular scent from Shadow anyway. Strange. Pushing it out of his mind, Silver stepped further into the room to examine the painting from a different angle.

Silver had few opportunities to appreciate the old, surviving artwork from where he lived, but he always held a fascination. The painting here was a mesh of liquid patterns of blue and red...when Silver blinked, he could've sworn he saw a face emerge in the twisting shapes and tones of the two colours. Staring further, he could almost imagine some kind of vaguely human figure.

Well it was certainly a nicer place to be than the freezing cell from before.

As his headache chose to make itself known again, Silver closed his eyes, moving to sit on the comfortably low to the ground bed. It was too much; he was tired, but what was he to do?

"It's like some dream. Something that never happened, that if I sleep now it will all be gone forever."

He said the words aloud. He could feel his mouth move, and hear his voice. It anchored him in this surreal world he knew so little about. His old world was gone.

Suddenly Silver smiled, weakly at first, but strengthening as he finished a train of thought. They...had won. Shadow, Sonic and...him. They'd done it; they'd saved his world, all of the worlds. They'd made things _right_. Silver stood up with newfound strength, going over to the curtained windows of the room and drawing them back. He couldn't help but gasp as he realized he was truly back to this heavenly time.

He looked at the long grass outside the window, down a story of the house; the nightly wind causing swathes of it to bow and weave in patterns of shade and movement. The forest that seemed to ring around the house, each one a feature of nature as they twisted and shaped themselves individually into creations of life and beauty. The bright moon – is that what it looked like? – that gave light even in the beautiful shadows of the night. Movement betrayed the specks of life, of animals foraging and running, of sustenance. A realm of life and beauty that had been gifted to all, shared by so many; this part his and his alone to hold and nurture.

If only Blaze could have seen it...

Silver looked around the window's frame, managing to work out how to slide it fully open. Doing so, he ignored the cold gust of wind he felt as he did...in many ways, even such a sensation of the crisp, clean air was luxury and amazement of the highest order. Clean of smoke, of sweltering humidity and singed metals, brimstone and...flesh. He swung his legs outside of the window, feeling no discomfort at the ten-foot drop beneath him, perching on the cold windowsill and looking out, steadying his small body with hands on either side.

"If you're there, somewhere, Blaze...I give this to you. It's thanks to you this is here, this land, this life." Silver's head lowered, clenching his eyes shut as tears stubbornly leaked through regardless. For the first time since he fought Solaris, he cried without reserve, his body heaving with sobs.

Blaze had always said to let tears out. She never said that much, really, but when she did say something...it deserved to be said, to be listened to and followed.

Tears ran down the face of the hedgehog. He missed her, he mourned her. As was his right...and as she deserved to be. He remembered the times he angered her, and every time she forgave him. Even the times when she apologized when a remark cut too deep. When they fought together...he'd lost count of the times they had saved each other's life in the destructive world they lived in.

Even as his tears ran short, his body chilled, Silver remained on the windowsill. He sat for hours, thinking, as the moon travelled across the sky. Wiping what remained of his tears off his face, Silver turned to heave himself back inside the relative warmth of the room. With a thought, he directed his powers to shut the window behind him.

Nothing, again. No twist of perceptions, no unseen manipulation of the world.

Of course.

Silver trembled. He felt the cold more than ever, even now that he was inside. He turned around, and dragged the window closed, groaning softly as he had to exert arms that were unused to physical effort. He was so...tired.

Silver stumbled backwards, falling backwards to land on Shadow's double bed horizontally. Breathing heavily, he laid there for minutes as his strength slowly returned. His skin was warmer, and as a further mercy, he felt remarkably stable. He didn't feel all that much, he'd put up a wall against his pain at least for now.

Pushing all thoughts from his mind; Silver sat up, moving pillows over the white blanket and piling them up against the headboard. Sitting against them, he concentrated on the comfort to his body, on the warmth of the room. He absently ran his fingers through his fur, wincing as he felt bruises and cuts. Nothing he hadn't taken before.

He bit his lip as he sensed his emotional wall falling. Looking for something to occupy his mind, Silver looked around, his eyes settling on the bedside table in the room with nothing but a lamp and a face-down photo frame on it. Reaching out an arm, he carefully lifted the photo.

He didn't know what to expect, considering how little he knew of Shadow. From their brief time together, Silver knew he didn't speak much and had little patience. He was more suited to combat than Sonic, yet both could use the Chaos Emeralds to devastating effect, Shadow perhaps more so. Sonic's eagerness to do good was obvious, Shadow's, however...Silver wasn't as sure, but the black hedgehog _had_ 'rescued' him from Eggman.

There was a lot Silver didn't know about Shadow... Rouge hadn't cleared much up in the chance they'd got to talk back at that Guardian Units of Nations facility. Silver still didn't know what Shadow's status as the "Ultimate Life Form" meant...was it a title? Metaphorical?

But from everything Silver knew about Shadow, he didn't know what to make of what he saw, what he saw on the photo made no sense. It was clearly dated, it's somewhat less-than-crisp colours suggesting many decades before the twenty-first century, but what was in it was astonishing.

A human girl; far younger than Elise, at an age Silver would guess to be about eight. He didn't know any humans in his world, but there were plenty of records from them and about them. She wore a blue dress, with equally blue eyes and surprisingly bright blonde hair. She looked happy.

Silver smiled once again. That expression on her face, of simple innocent joy, was contagious. It was the best he'd felt since he'd woken up in a cold cell that Eggman had thrown him in. Standing next to the young girl was...Shadow?

He didn't look a day younger, though his shoes and gloves were clearly of a different make at whatever time the photo was set. He didn't even reach the young girl's shoulders as they stood beside each other, but he stood with a sort of relaxed form that Silver had never seen in him before. He wasn't _smiling_, as such, but he looked content; somehow happy to be there, in that photo opportunity with this human girl.

Who was she? How come Shadow looked the same? The picture raised more questions than answers. Respectfully, he turned the picture face-down again, feeling his temporary happiness evaporate with it.

'_I should sleep._'He decided, closing his eyes as he leant back against the pillows. The bedroom light glared through his eyelids uncomfortably, and he opened them to see the light switch across the room.

Silver reached out, with his powers, willing the switch to turn. Fatigue flooded his veins, hid body growing tired even as nothing happened. He closed his eyes to focus.

'_I'm not going to give up this time. I will not be helpless; I will not._'

Silver determinedly kept his focus. The hero, the slayer of Solaris, and he can't even stand, can't even turn a light on or off. After all, who was he without his powers?

'_They are not gone. I can do this. I won't let my weakness hold me or anybody back again._'

Sweat formed under his fur, causing cuts to sting.

'_Blaze would be alive if it weren't for my weakness. I won't fail her again._'

Blazing lines cut across his vision. For a split second, everything went black, as he strayed to the verge of unconsciousness.

'_For Blaze._'

Silver fainted, falling back into the black abyss as his body lay slumped against the headboard, lifeless if not for his laboured breathing.

_Click_.

...

The pillows were so much softer than usual, the mattress so much more forgiving...It felt nice on his fur.

Silver dragged himself, semi-consciously, further under the covers. They were much softer than they normally are, too. It was a little...chilly, though. He rarely felt cool in a morning, or indeed at any time, unless he flew or stayed some distance from the lava flows.

One of Silver's eyes creaked open, before closing again. It was particularly bright...bright yellow light, rather than the red glow... It reminded him of his time in the desert with Amy. It was so...beautiful and fresh; an unmarred landscape. The memories began to wake him up, as his mind began to work again.

The world was comfortable, beautiful... They'd done it. Blaze and him had finally beat Iblis, beat Solaris, and had saved it all.

Silver sat up, suddenly, everything flooding back at once. Eggman, the G.U.N base, Shadow's house, Shadow's bedroom...

And Blaze isn't here. Blaze is...gone.

Silver sighed out. He had achieved some state of calm over yesterday, but not nearly enough. Blaze, who was **always** there, was now gone. It was as if half of himself just disappeared, leaving him stranded. Confused and alone. Silver pushed the blanket off of him, moving to sit on the edge of the bed, waking quickly. He supposed he could...what was the term for it? "Sleep in". His psychokinetic powers made him too busy, too sought after as a fighter or scavenger, to usually have such a luxury in his world. It would have been years since he had overslept for the sake of oversleeping, and he wasn't sure he'd be able to break the habit if he tried.

Silver looked around the room, remembering details that he'd noticed last night; getting his bearings. It was bathed in a warm, yellow light from the window. The sun...no longer obscured day and night by choking smoke and clouds, but there for the world, day after day. Silver stood to look outside the window. He heard what he had learnt before to be birdsong, and to recognize the strangely beautiful feathered creatures in the trees to be the birds. Trees and their leaves, such defined brown and green, colours of life that the grey and black husks of trees lacked, the grass vibrant... and visible on the lawn outside the house ringed by forest, a familiar face. A yellow therianthropic fox, shorter than Silver, and clearly recognized by his unusual duo of tails. Silver heaved the window open, feeling somewhat stronger than yesterday, beginning to learn not to instinctively use his powers. The movement of the heavy window attracted the fox's attention, who had appeared to be peering through a window on the ground floor.

Looking up directly at Silver, the fox suddenly waved enthusiastically.

"Silver! It's Tails, we heard that you came back!" The fox cried out. Silver had barely registered the use of the word 'we' before, in a blur of blue, a hedgehog not too different from Silver or Shadow stood beside Tails.

"Hey, bud! Good to see you're still around and kicking. Rouge told us GUN picked you up from Eggman, but didn't say how you got back here in the first place. Mind unlocking the downstairs door? We brought some food." Sonic called out cheerfully, waving an arm in greeting. Neither Tails' excited smile nor Sonic's wide grin showed any sign of baring ill-wishes to Silver, despite that almost all of the occasions that they crossed paths were in battle.

Silver was about to reply, but upon realizing he didn't know what to say or where to begin, he instead gave a short wave back and turned to run from the room to open the front door for the two. He gritted his teeth, not in annoyance, but in regret of how little he knew of what passed as polite social graces in this world. He felt awkward and embarrassed already, mentally kicking himself for not being able to think of anything to say rather than to just wave.

Silver stopped his train of thought for a moment to glance at the light switch before he passed through the doorway, frowning.

It was switched off.

'_Did I do that with my powers last night? I didn't think I had...maybe I'd woken up later to turn it off and I just didn't remember. Or Shadow turned it off in the night. Probably._'

Eliminating his own hope, Silver returned to running as fast as he dared on his tired, bruised legs until he made his way to the front door, recognizing it as being immediately able to open from the inside despite the lock from the outside. Doing so, he let the door swing in to the yellow and blue figures. Only now Silver saw the plastic bag in Tails' left hand – presumably the food they mentioned. Sonic was the first to step in, cricking his neck to each side as he did so.

"Wow, it's been awhile since I stepped foot inside this place. Shadow really doesn't care to keep it clean, does he?" Sonic noted, eying the floor. Silver turned to look as well as Tails stepped in after the hedgehog.

Silver hadn't been downstairs until now. The front door and bottom of the staircase were in an entrance hall adjacent to the living room, separated by a small section of wall easily peered past. Both the hall and living room were carpeted, though like the corridor upstairs – the carpet had a multitude of scorch marks. Unlike upstairs, however, various old and torn newspapers littered the couch, coffee table and floor of the room, as well as empty wine bottles and a black implement of a design Silver was certain he'd seen before; but before he could go to examine it; the blur of Sonic's movement passed over the object before heading upstairs and then back to Silver's side within the space of a second or two, leaving a new rush of wind moving through the house. Sonic's face was less cheerful now, instead shaking his head in some form of shame. He'd taken the implement out of sight. He spoke, his voice quiet enough so that Silver's sensitive ears heard what Tails' couldn't from a few steps further away.

"I'm surprised that even Shadow would just leave one of his handguns lying on the carpet. I thought Rouge had broken him of that habit." Sonic muttered, before lifting his head with a new smile on his face completely overriding the discomforting revelation seconds ago, "So, Silver, welcome back to the present! What brings you back?"

"It's the past to Silver, remember, Sonic." Tails pointed out, clearing a space on the coffee table to lay down his plastic bag, shaking his head much like Sonic had done at the remains of such a quantity of alcohol about.

"Um...it's...I don't know. I last was fighting Solaris..." Silver stated unsurely, praying that Sonic didn't mention Blaze. Sonic looked at Silver first curiously, then in understanding. Tails stopped his unwrapping of the food he was beginning to lay out, turning to question Silver.

"Does...that mean you want to try to get back home, then? To your own time?"

Silver shook his head, grimacing. He'd thought about such last night. In truth, he wasn't sure what happened to his time when Solaris was destroyed...it might not exist anymore, since it wouldn't have occurred in the first place, but somehow Silver suspected it was still there. What Solaris did to the world still happened to some level, because some people still remember him...or it. Even if his time was fine and was rebuilding, Silver still didn't want to go back, though.

"There's nothing left for me there. I think I want to stay and...move on." Silver explained, unsure of how to get across all of his thoughts and feelings. What else could he say? That he didn't know anything about this world, but what he had seen is infinitely better than his own? That he only had one person whom he truly cared about and was cared about in return for in his time, and she wouldn't be there? That he had no family to think of, or people who would miss him? That in his world he was merely a survivor, while in this world he could be whatever he liked?

Tails smiled, and finished unwrapping the various rolls he had bought along the way, so the three could eat.

"Well, then as long as you're staying, we may as well get to know you a bit better, huh?" Tails said in an obvious welcoming gesture, even as Sonic clapped a hand on Silver's shoulder.

"Yeah. Welcome back to this world!"

Silver thought over his reply for a second, before smiling back to Tails, feeling some of the awkwardness disappear.

"Yeah...I guess we should. Thanks."

...

Yellow eyes blinked, then opened, awakening from a dream with vividness beyond what imagination can provide. There He was, perched upon an open window. He spoke aloud to a night sky. He spoke to her. He thanked her for the world and what she had done for Him.

She sat up from her resting place on the altar which had saved her from the demon inside. The Sol Emeralds were glowing faintly. They had granted her that dream...no...that vision.

She stood up, allowing herself a soft smile. It was good to know that He was safe. It wasn't morning yet, but she looked around. No threat to the Sol Emeralds perched upon the pillars of stone around the altar had come in the night, or it would have awoken her. No, things were silent, and safe. How they should be.

She walked to the nearest pillar, gently lifting the Gray Sol Emerald from its place and cradling the gem carefully in her hands. It glowed and warmed at her touch, and she looked into it, speaking softly.

"If you can hear this, Silver, then take heart in the knowledge that I am safe. You've done so well, Silver, and you should be proud in yourself. Do not mourn me. One dimension is not too far for those with the power of the Emeralds. We will meet again soon."

There you have it. Thank you for reading up to now. I realize that this probably hasn't been my best chapter...less than usual has happened, for sure. More character exposition than normal. Even so, don't be afraid to criticise, point out mistakes or anything else that's the problem!

As additional notes, I'd like to clarify that this story is set after "Sonic the Hedgehog 2006" specifically, and though it may take elements out of other games (such as Sonic Rush), they are rarely relevant or considered canon for the sake of this story. There's not a strong enough definitive Canon to make a Sonic the Hedgehog story like this that works with every plotline.

Remember that I try to respond to every review! Until Next Time, Farewell!


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